Content is King: why content determines the visibility of your website

Anyone planning a new website usually starts by discussing its appearance: colors, images, animations. This is understandable, as that's precisely what visitors notice first: colors, shapes, and then text.

Google sees your website differently. A search engine primarily reads text. Images are also indexed via text, specifically through the file name, image title, and alt attribute. Your promotional video on the homepage might be impressive, but it's practically worthless for search engine optimization.

This old principle still applies in 2026. However, it has taken on a new dimension; more on that below.

Why the most elaborate website isn't automatically the most successful

Many company websites rely on sliders, parallax effects, and video backgrounds. The result is regularly the same: the page loads slowly, half the content shifts on mobile devices, and there's little substance behind it. Google evaluates how quickly and reliably a page loads. But above all, Google evaluates whether a page actually answers the searcher's question.

An example from our own experience: On katzentuere24.ch, we explain in detail how a cat flap is installed in glass, wood, or plastic, what it costs, and what to consider when using safety glass. The site is intentionally simple. Nevertheless, it has maintained a stable ranking for years because it provides the best answers to precisely these questions on the Swiss market. The same principle applies to einbauschrank24.ch and gelaender24.ch.

Not a single one of these successes came about through a design element. They all came about through content.

What has changed since 2022

When we wrote this article, "Content is King" was primarily about the question of text versus design. Today, we're addressing a second question: the quality of the content itself.

Since texts can be generated at the touch of a button, the internet is full of pages that contain many words but say nothing. Google has responded with several updates and now places significantly more emphasis on whether a text reflects genuine experience. For you as an SME, this means specifically:

Personal experience trumps general knowledge. A carpenter who describes why a sloping roof makes a built-in wardrobe more expensive writes something no AI text can invent. This kind of content wins.

Show who's writing. Company name, author, photos of real projects, references. Google and your customers assess trust based on similar signals.

Please answer the question completely. Someone searching for "galvanized or powder-coated railings" wants help in making a decision, not a contact form filled out with three sentences.

The new point: Your customers are no longer just asking Google.

A growing number of searches no longer end with a results list. People ask ChatGPT, they read the AI summary at the top of Google, they ask the assistant on their phone. In all these cases, your website isn't clicked, but rather read and summarized.

And what gets summarized? Text. Clearly structured, factually accurate, and easily identifiable text. An AI system can't quote your hero video. It can quote your pricing, service area, and specialization, provided these are presented in understandable sentences on your website.

This means that good content has not become less important, but rather the only channel through which you will even appear in these answers.

Where design is still crucial

This article is not an argument for ugly websites. Content brings visitors to the site. Whether that leads to a request is determined afterward.

For online shops, services requiring explanation, and anywhere where emotional factors influence purchasing decisions, design is a direct revenue driver. A cluttered shopping cart costs money, as does an unclear process. Trust is also largely built through design.

The correct order is therefore: first the content that attracts visitors, then the design that turns visitors into customers. Not the other way around.

And what if the competition is already ahead?

One realistic piece of advice to conclude. A new domain typically needs six to twelve months before Google trusts it enough to rank it seriously. Content works, but not from day one. Those who need additional visibility during this phase should combine website building with paid advertising and simultaneously build genuine backlinks, for example, through industry associations, partner companies, and local media.

Those who wait until the website "looks finished" are wasting exactly that time.

Conclusion

Content is King will be even more true in 2026 than it was in 2022. However, the bar has been raised: simply having a lot of text is no longer enough. What's needed is text that stems from real experience, fully answers a specific question, and is written in a way that both humans and machines can understand.

Not sure if your website meets these standards? We'd be happy to take a look.